Rockabye
Plot After sixteen-year-old Lauren Westley loses her unborn child due to a severe abdominal beating, her father's insistence that Lauren was raped leads detectives to the baby's father, but it isn't long before the detectives realise that Lauren was an active party in her own beating, and the two teens had found it necessary to take the steps they did because the abortion clinic kept putting off Lauren's request for an appointment. Novak faces a tough opponent in her own office when she and Branch disagree over the appropriate action to be taken against Wayne Mortens, the young girl's boyfriend. Casey, who didn't agree with Branch, basically gives the defense what they need to win as Branch refuses to allow a plea bargain. Afterwards, the doctor who stalled so the abortion couldn't happen and backed Lauren and Wayne into a corner is arrested for fraud. Summary Episode summary Cast Main cast *Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler *Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson *Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch *Diane Neal as A.D.A. Casey Novak *Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola *B.D. Wong as Dr. George Huang (credit only) *Tamara Tunie as M.E. Melinda Warner *Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen Recurring cast * Joanna Merlin as Judge Lena Petrovsky * Judith Light as Judge Elizabeth Donnelly * Fred Dalton Thompson as D.A. Arthur Branch * Annie Potts as Defense Attorney Sophie Devere * J. Paul Nicholas as Defense Attorney Linden Delroy * Francis Jue as Dr. Fong * Joselin Reyes as Paramedic Martinez * Elizabeth Flax as Nurse Carey Hutchins Guest cast * Skipp Sudduth as Phillip Westley * Keri Lynn Pratt as Lauren Westley * John Patrick Amedori as Wayne Mortens * Robert Foxworth as Dr. Lett * Adriane Lenox as Judy Carlton * Dennis Predovic as Hotel Manager * Arie Thompson as Jolene * Hank Davies as John * Fiana Toibin as Nurse * Charles Techman as Elderly Man * Hilary Hight as Jury Foreperson * Anthony Spina as Cell Man References Manhattan Women's Sexual Health Clinic; Golden Promise; Palassi, Virginia Quotes *'Branch': So you handed the case to the defense. *'Novak': Wayne still got probation. *'Branch': I may be pro-life, but I'm even more pro-law. Arrest that doctor. ---- *'Devere': There are people in this country who want to take us back to the 50's, and look what we've got. A 50's crime. ---- *'Novak': The baby was more than 24 weeks old, it could have lived outside the womb. *'Devere': But tragically it did not, so it is not a person, not a baby, not an unborn child; it is a fetus. My client is already handicapped by the law, let's not add insult to injury. *'Novak': The only insult is to the English language. ---- *'Benson': You hit yourself? *'Lauren': (cries) Yes. *'Benson': An eyewitness said you were yelling, "Stop. Don't..." *'Lauren': (sobs harder) God forgive me, I was yelling, "Don't stop!" ---- *'Munch': These kids take one look at a Britney Spears video and the Golden Promise goes out the bedroom window. ---- *'Devere': It's one of those fake abortion clinics. They're springing up all over the country. *'Novak': I didn't expect to see them here. *'Devere': They're trying to clean up Sodom and Gomorrah. Background information and notes *The episode title is taken from a Shawn Mullins song. *Goof: Lauren Westley says she tried to buy an abortion pill when she found out she was pregnant after missing her third period. The abortion pill, RU-486, wasn't actually an option for her because it is only used within 64 days of conception. She could have been referring to the morning-after pill (emergency contraception) but that is only effective when used within 72 hours of unprotected sex. *This episode is 'ripped from the headlines' episode. The original case occurred in Michigan. Since there was no statute that specifically covered this incident, the teens were convicted on lesser charges. Episode scene cards Category:SVU episodes Category:Crossover episodes